This chapter is from the book

Working With Mount Records

Mac OS X computers using network user accounts need to access networked volumes at startup (prior to logging in). Open Directory
specifies a mount record, which contains information about these network volumes so a startup process can automatically mount them, regardless of which user logs in.

Mac OS X computers prepared for use with network user accounts typically don’t store this information in their local NetInfo
database, as that information can become out-dated and each Mac OS X computer’s NetInfo database would need to be updated
manually. At startup, the automount daemon queries Open Directory for mount records. In response, directoryservice plug-ins that have been preconfigured with remote server information search the databases on those servers for mount records.
The automount daemon uses the information from any mount records that are returned to mount the appropriate volumes. This
type of automount is supported for AFP and network file system (NFS), but not for SMB.

For some types of servers, you may not be able to rely on the mount record being stored on the server. You can add mount records
to the client’s local NetInfo database using dscl, NetInfo Manager, or Workgroup Manager.

If the computer won’t boot to multiuser mode after you modify the mounts record, delete the record in single-user mode, restart
the computer, and enter the data again.

If you can browse a computer but you cannot connect, try the following:

Look for network problems. Check physical connections and try to ping the server. Try other services from the same server.
If more than one protocol is affected, you should troubleshoot your network connection.

If you get a login dialog but can’t mount the volume, the connection is good and authentication is the most likely problem.
Verify the user name and password. A good way to do this is using id and su from the command line.

If you have a problem mounting from the Finder, try mounting from the command line. You may get more information from error
messages.

Verify the permissions of the folder you’re mounting on.

Verify that the URL you are using is correct.

Try connecting from a different computer. If the service appears on that computer, find out what is different. Look at Network
preferences and Directory Access settings, for example.